Days of the Dead
by angelsinstead
Summary: In this mystery, Amy, Steve, and Matt of the Dead Files help investigate the Alamain Mansion in Salem after Carly reports strange paranormal activity.
1. Chapter 1

_"My name is Amy Allan. I see dead people. I speak to dead people. And they speak to me."_

 **The Day Before the Investigation**

Amy Allan awoke with an excruciating headache. All through the night, the dead had been trying to speak to her, calling out to her in her dreams.

 _Listen to us, Amy,_ the haunting voices beckoned. _We have so much to tell you._

Amy was a psychic medium. For years, she had been communicating with the dead. When she met Matt, he had trouble believing that Amy was for real. After they were married, he had no other choice but to share her with the spirits that called to her from the great beyond. He became her cameraman on a reality T.V. series, "The Dead Files." Together, they went to haunted locations, seeking answers to various paranormal occurrences. Amy made it her mission to help the dead communicate with the living. The main purpose of her efforts was to give the spirits peace and the living a sense of closure.

Tomorrow they were about to embark on another mission. It would be just like all the others... or so at first she thought. She was just starting to realize that she was about step into her greatest challenge, the mother of all missions.

"Are you ready for this?" Matt asked as he walked into Amy's motel room.

Despite the fact that Amy and Matt were now divorced, they were still very close. He accompanied her on every ghost adventure. She couldn't have done it without him. As he stood over her bed in her motel room, Amy managed to give him a smile, despite the pain that throbbed in her head.

"No, Matt, are _you_ ready for this?" Amy asked.

Matt shrugged. "Another haunted mansion. Ghosts. Apparitions. Moving objects. Strange voices. Frightened house guests. We see it all the time."

"No, this one is different," Amy responded.

"How do you know?"

"I can feel it."

She climbed out of bed, only wearing a thin, cotton nightie. Matt got an eyeful of her curvaceous body.

"Isn't that what you wore on our wedding night?"

Amy's face contorted into one of her famous half-grimaces. Matt gave her a heated smirk.

It took a great deal of strength for Amy to return to the subject of their next investigation. "Pack up your gear and get your mind out of the gutter," Amy insisted. "It's time we searched that mansion in Salem from top to bottom. We need to interview everyone who lives there."

"But tomorrow is Halloween night," Matt protested. "And it's such a long drive. My legs will get sore."

He gave her a look as if to say, _*Will you rub them?_

"You have no clue, do you?" she said as she gave him a sharp look. "A child died in that house. Long, long ago... And now the inhabitants have been seeing a creepy child ghost. Not only have they seen it, it's been speaking to them. The family is half scared out of their minds."

Once again, Matt shrugged. "We've heard it all before. Bring in the holy water and a priest."

"I feel something, Matt. And it isn't good."

His eyes swept over her luscious body, clad in nothing more than a form-fitting nightie. "I feel something, too," he said in a breathless whisper.

"Just you wait," she said. "You'll be sorry that you made light of this. You'll be very sorry when we step into that house."

Matt knew her well enough that he knew he should be frightened. He should be _very_ frightened, because Amy knew ghosts. She could 'feel' things from afar.

"What the hell do you think happened there?" he asked.

"A child was murdered," she replied. "And I sense a secret. There are secrets there. Terrible, terrible secrets. It's our job to solve the mystery and put the spirits to rest."

"Awww hell, I knew you were going to say that. Why us? Why again?"

"Because they need us, Matt. The Alamain family needs our skills."

"Your skills. I don't have any skills."

"You have skills."

He smirked again. His blue eyes sparkled devilishly. She knew it was going to be a long car ride to Salem.


	2. Chapter 2

_" I'm Steve DiSchiavi. I'm a retired New York city homicide detective. And I know every person, every house, has secrets. It's my job to reveal them."_

 **The Day Before the Investigation (Continued)**

Steve DiShiavi arrived at the Alamain mansion in Salem, USA. It looked like something straight out of a gothic novel. He'd never seen anything like it. Amy would definitely love it here.

As he walked up to the front door, a strange tingle moved down his spine. He had never felt like this before, never once in the past six years of conducting paranormal investigations alongside Amy. This place was different. This house was _special_.

He wasn't a psychic man. He dealt in the facts. It was his job to gather research during the investigation. Amy dealt with the paranormal. As he stood at the door, poised to knock, his heart was in his throat.

His intuition told him he should leave. He should not step foot inside that house of horrors, but something called him inside. As he stood at the door, he thought he caught a glimpse of a small child on the porch beside him. She was wearing a long white dress and satiny black shoes. Her dark hair was a mess of tumbled curls. When he turned to look at her, she was suddenly gone.

That had never happened before, not even once in all his years of investigations. He had never seen anything. Never _felt_ anything. But he could feel it now and he was scared. Absolutely terrified.

 _What happened here?_ he was thinking, but before he could even knock, the door opened and there stood a man.

"You're here to investigate the house," the man said knowingly.

Steve nodded. "Hello. I'm Steve DiSchiavi," he said.

"Come in, Sir," said the servant.

The man moved aside, allowing Steve to enter. "Mr. Alamain," the man called out. "The paranormal investigator is here."

"Thank you, Ivan," said Lawrence as he approached, holding a tall glass of wine.

" , this is my butler, Ivan Marais," Lawrence introduced.

"It's good to meet you, Sir," said Ivan as he gave a gracious bow. After he spoke, he walked down a long hall, quietly leaving the foyer.

Steve nodded to the butler. "Your wife called," Steve said to Mr. Alamain. "She mentioned... some strange occurrences, odd things happening within your mansion."

"I'm afraid our mansion is haunted," Lawrence said after a long cleansing sip of his wine. "My wife has seen the apparition and so has our son."

"And you haven't?" asked Steve.

Lawrence chuckled lightly. "I don't believe in ghosts or specters."

"I would like to interview everyone in the family," Steve said. "Amy will be arriving tomorrow to continue the investigation. Mr. Alamain, what exactly happened in this house?"

"A child died," Lawrence replied. "Let me show you."

He lead Steve into the parlor. The house itself looked like a grand museum. There were so many antiques and precious artifacts. As they stood before the fire, Lawrence gestured to the lovely portrait which had been placed above the mantle.

"There she is," he said.

"Who is it?" Steve asked as he looked at the image in shock.

It was she, the young girl he had seen a few minutes earlier as he was standing at the front door about to knock. He had seen her image, just out of the corner of his eye. She had been there... but she had disappeared!

"Her name was Lucinda Alaimain. She died," Lawrence replied.

"How?" Steve questioned.

Before Lawrence could answer, a strange woman burst into the room. "Lawrence, who is this man?" she asked as she looked at Steve with contempt. She looked like an evil, red-haired witch. Steve was sure she had been sent to put a curse on him. He didn't know what he feared worse, the house or the disturbing woman.

Steve found his voice. "Who are you?" he asked the woman.

"I am Vivian Alamain, Lawrence's aunt. This is my house... and you have to go!"

Just then, a beautiful woman entered the parlor, followed by a young boy. "No, Vivian," she said firmly. "I asked the team from the Dead Files to come to Salem to investigate. Something isn't right... here in the mansion, ever since Lawrence and I returned from Paris with Nicky. Something is... off, and I intend to find out what it is. I intend to find out what **she** wants."

She looked up at the portrait and in that moment, Steve saw Vivian Alamain cringe. He looked from one Alamain to another. Something wasn't right. He had to interview the family one by one. He had to gather up every shred of evidence, then he would do research to find out exactly what had happened. It wasn't going to be easy. Something told him that this family was threaded together by horrific secrets. He could feel it; he could see it in their eyes.


	3. Chapter 3

_[Amy]: "Steve and I never speak."_

 _[Steve]: "We never communicate during an investigation."_

 _[Amy]: "Until the very end."_

 _[Steve]: "Then we uncover that it's safe for you to stay..."_

 _[Amy]: "... Or time to get out."_

 _~ The Dead Files introduction_

 **Steve's Interviews with the Family (Part One)**

"I will need to speak to each of the family members," Steve stated. "I would like to speak to Mrs. Alamain first, since she gave us the call."

"Of course," said Carly. "Let's go talk on the front porch."

Steve followed Carly to the front porch where they took a seat on an elaborately carved wooden bench. "Please tell me in your own words about the paranormal activity you've been experiencing," Steve prompted.

"It all started when my husband Lawrence and I returned from Paris with our son. My husband's Aunt Vivian had just been released from a mental asylum. She had returned here to the mansion... and she asked us to come and live with her."

"A mental asylum? Forgive the question, but why had she been locked up?"

"Vivian had been disturbed for quite some time. When my son Nicholas was born, she stole him... telling me that my baby had died," Carly explained. "It wasn't until much later that we realized that Nicholas was in fact our child. Vivian had said she adopted him. It was terrible... but that's not all. Vivian had me buried alive."

"Wow," Steve said as he didn't know what else to say. "It does sound as if she is very disturbed."

"My husband feels she is better now... but I am not sure. I am not so quick to forgive. Some incidents are so horrific, it's not easy to forgive."

Steve nodded. He scrawled a few notes into his notebook. "After you returned here to the mansion, what happened next?"

"Right away, I noticed that something was 'off' or different about the mansion. I just _knew_...  
I knew that we were being visited by the dead."

Steve felt the tiny hairs standing upright at the back of his neck. He half expected that he'd see HER standing there again on the porch - the ghostly child who was said to haunt the estate. He knew he had to ask more questions, but he was really getting creeped out by this.

"And did you see or hear anything?" he asked.

"Yes. At first it was just voices. A little girl crying, calling out for her mommy. Sometimes she was singing. And then..."

Carly paused. It wasn't easy to speak about. "... she was screaming."

Steve's eyes got huge. "Did you... see her?"

"Ohhh yes, I see her all the time. Usually in the parlor... but sometimes in the grave yard. Sometimes she asks for help."

A shiver rushed up Steve's spine. "Anything else? What about the little girl who died... Lucinda Alamain, was it? Can you tell me what happened to her?"

"You'll have to ask my husband. I don't know much about the Alamain family history," Carly said with a heavy sigh.

"Alright, Mrs. Alamain. I will do everything I can to help."

Carly gave him a nervous smile, almost as if she didn't believe that he could. She stood up and headed toward the door. "I will ask my husband to meet you in his study. Ivan can take you," she offered.

Steve nodded as he remained upon the bench. He was anxious to know what had happened to Lucinda Alamain. Why was the ghostly girl asking for help? He hoped he'd have more answers after interviewing the family.

A few minutes later, the servant, Ivan arrived to take Steve back inside to meet Mr. Alamain in the study. When he entered the study, Steve found Lawrence seated at his desk, waiting to speak with him.

"How can I help you, Mr. DiShiavi?" Mr. Alamain asked.

"You said you haven't seen or heard anything strange and that you don't believe in the paranormal," Steve said. "But what can you tell me about the little girl who died?"

"It was many years ago... back when Vivian was a small child," Lawrence explained. "Her little sister disappeared. The family was heartbroken. It would appear that their daughter, my aunt, had been kidnapped. Lucinda Alamain was only 10 years old."

"Kidnapped?" Steve asked in surprise. "I thought you said the child died?"

"She just appeared one day a couple of months later... in the parlor. No one knew what had happened to her... or where she had been. It was Vivian who found her."

Lawrence paused as if the words were just to horrific to utter. "When Vivian found her, Lucinda was dead."

"What do they think happened to her?" asked Steve as he jotted a few notes down in his notebook.

"She had been strangled."

"Is she the only person who has ever died in this house?" Steve questioned.

Lawrence was taken aback at that question. Suddenly, his whole demeanor changed. He looked toward the door as if he suddenly wanted to bolt from the room.

"Mr. Alamain?" Steve prompted.

"I don't speak of it," Lawrence said reluctantly.

A couple of minutes ticked by before Lawrence seemed to get the courage to say the words. "When I was a child... my brother died. His name was Forest. He drowned here on the property... in the family pool."

"I am so sorry," Steve said sincerely. "How did it happen?"

"The nanny left me alone in the pool with my little brother. He was drowning... and I didn't know what to do. When Vivian got there, it was too late..."

Steve shook his head, his eyes shrouded with sadness. "Thank you for answering my questions, Mr. Alamain. I would like to speak to Vivian Alamain, your son, and the butler next."

"Ivan?" Lawrence asked in surprise. He never would have thought that Steve would need to question Ivan about the situation.

"Yes. He may have seen or heard something important."

"He is always eavesdropping," Lawrence said. As he looked out of the corner of his eye, he could see his butler lurking in the hallway. The door to the study was slightly askew. Ivan had been listening to their every word.

"Why did you and your wife move back from Paris?" wondered Steve.

"We had a tragedy... and we wanted to come home."

Steve looked up from his notebook, seeing sorrow in Mr. Alaimain's eyes. "What sort of tragedy?"

"Our little girl..." Lawrence said softly. "...she died."


	4. Chapter 4

_"I think together [Amy and I] can help people. I'm pretty good at talking to people and getting them to open up - confession was my strong point on the force and I'm a good interrogator..." Quote by Steve Di Schiavi of The Dead Files_

Steve's Interviews with the Family (Part Two)

Ivan Marais lead Steve back outside at the request of Mr, Alamain so that Steve had a chance to interview Lawrence and Carly's young son, Nicholas Alamain. A chill went up Steve's spine as the servant lead him to the family graveyard. There behind a wrought iron fence were several graves. He saw the graves of Lawrence's parents, Leopold and Philomena Alamain as well as the tiny headstone of little Forest Alamain, the small child who was said to have drowned in the family swimming pool.

Steve felt uneasy when the servant walked away. He saw the small boy on the grass, kneeling upon a child's grave. The headstone read "Lucy." Steve had no doubt that the grave was that of the child-ghost that had been haunting the mansion.

The boy had a dozen roses in his tiny hand. As he gently placed the fragrant flowers upon the grave, a haunted look was mirrored in his sapphire eyes. "Nicholas," Steve said softly as he attempted to get the boy's attention.

Nicky looked up at the paranormal investigator as a tear slowly rolled down his alabaster cheek. "Can I talk to you ... about what you've seen? Can I talk to you about Lucy?" Steve asked the child.

Nicholas rose to his feet. "Of course," he said as he wiped the bits of dried leaves away which clung to his trousers.

"What can you tell me about this grave?" Steve asked. "And Lucy?"

"Lucy needs our help," said Nicholas. "She's been trying to talk to us..."

"Who?"

"My mother and me. She has something important to say."

"What do you think she'd like to tell you and your mother?"

Nicholas looked back at the grave as more tears filled up his sad eyes. "We should have stayed in Paris... We shouldn't have came here, to the Alamain mansion."

"Why do you say that?"

"We had to go; my mom was so sad... after- after my baby sister died."

"How did she die? What happened to your baby sister?"

"She was... born too soon," Nicholas responded quietly with so much pain. "Maybe that's why Lucy tries to speak to me... maybe she wants to give me a message from my little sister."

"What was your sister's name?" Steve asked gently.

A shudder went through Nicholas's body as he gave up the name. "Her name was Lucy, too," he revealed.

Xxxooo

After speaking to the youngest Alamain living in the mansion, Steve was joined by Ivan as he was leaving the tiny cemetery. "What strange occurrences have you seen in the mansion?" Steve questioned the servant.

"Nothing... nothing at all," Ivan denied.

Steve could tell he was lying. He was good at reading people's voices and their mannerisms. He had spent years interrogating criminals on the police force. Ivan was being dishonest about what he had seen and heard - but why? What was the servant hiding?

"You must be very loyal to your employer, Mr. Alamain," Steve said.

"Mr. Alamain is _not_ my employer. I am the servant of Madame," Ivan revealed.

"Madame?"

"Ms. Alamain ~ Vivian."

Steve could hear the adoration in the servant's voice as he spoke of his beloved mistress, Vivian Alamain, the woman who was said to have buried Carly Alamain alive and to have stolen her own nephew's newborn child. Vivian Alamain had spent years in a mental institution after her many crimes. What other atrocities had the red-haired aunt of Lawrence Alamain commited? Was Lawrence's aunt capable of murder? What did she have to do with the disappearance and death of her younger sister, Lucinda Alamain? Steve was determined to find all the answers... and he knew that he could with Amy's help.

"I must speak to Vivian Alamain at once, before I continue with my investigation," Steve insisted.

"I will take you to her," Ivan agreed as he let out a heavy sigh.

Steve felt the hair rising on the back of his neck as he was taken into the mansion by way of the backdoor. He was brought back into the parlor, where Vivian was seated near the fireplace, so close to that portrait of the once-missing and long-dead girl, her own sister.

"Tell me about Lucy," Steve urged as he sat down on a love seat across from Vivian.

Vivian looked up at that portrait and into the haunting eyes of her younger sister. "What do you want to know?" she asked, her face showing her disgust with Steve and the interview he was conducting.

"What happened to her?" Steve asked, knowing there was far more beyond the tale that he had been told.

"She was murdered," Vivian stated with little emotion as if she were discussing nothing more than the weather or a favorite recipe.

"So, your sister disappeared... and then one month later, she reappeared... within this room... and she was dead?"

"Yes," Vivian said coldly.

"And you had nothing to do with what happened to her?"

"What exactly are you insinuating?! How could you think that _**I**_ had anything to do with my sister's death?!" Vivian asked in an shrill, angry voice.

"Well, you _did_ bury Carly Alamain alive... and you made her think her newborn son was dead. You stole your nephew's child so you could pass him off as your own. What other crimes of you committed, Ms. Alamain?" Steve demanded as he stared her in the eyes.

"I am innocent!" Vivian cried out in a loud gasp.

"I have a feeling you don't have an innocent bone in your body," Steve said. "All your secrets will soon be revealed. Everyone's going to know exactly what it is that you have done."

"Get _out_ of my house!" Vivian screamed. "I never invited you here! **GET OUT**!"

Carly returned to the parlor just as Vivian was freaking out, insisting that Steve had to leave. "Vivian, Steve is staying. In fact, he's going to continue with his investigation... and tomorrow night, Amy and her cameraman will arrive so they can try to contact the ghost of your sister, Lucy."

"No!" Vivian exclaimed. "I want ALL these quacks out of MY house."

Lawrence walked into the room and joined his beloved wife. He wrapped his arm around the woman he loved. "Katerina is right," he said to his aunt. "We are going to get to the bottom of all these odd occurrences that have been happening since our return from Paris. I want my family back. My wife is frightened ... and my son has been moping in the cemetery. It's time we got some answers... and if you don't like it, Aunt Viv, then you may leave."

"You're going to regret this, Lawrence," Vivian said ominously. "You're going to regret this _so_ much."

"There are many things I regret," Lawrence said but he did not elaborate.

Watching the family, Steve knew he could get no more answers in the mansion. It was time to leave and continue the investigation elsewhere. His first stop would be the Salem library. He needed to find all the information he could about the mansion, Lucinda Alamain's disappearance and her mysterious death, as well as any other pertinent information about the family.

Vivian looked very pleased when he announced he was leaving. "It's not over," he quietly reminded. "Amy and Matt will be arriving in less than 24 hours."

"Halloween ~ Devil's night," Vivian said as if in warning.

"Amy will get to the bottom of these strange happenings; there is no doubt about it," Steve said.

"We are counting on it," Lawrence Alamain said as he shook Steve's hand.

"Thank you for coming," Carly said graciously. "We really appreciate all you and Amy are doing to help our family."

"My pleasure," Steve said, but in reality, it had been like torture to him.

There was something entirely bizarre about this mansion and it's strange inhabitants, especially the quite creepy Ms. Vivian Alamain. Steve had seen her type many times before during his work on the police force. The woman was clearly a psychopath and a very dangerous woman. It appeared it wasn't the dead that was haunting this house - but someone living.


	5. Chapter 5

" _I bring a clinical side to an investigation. It's black and white for me…it's all about the facts. My experience in investigating crimes and drawing on clues to find the truth..." Quote by Steve Di Schiavi of The Dead Files_

 **Steve Visits the Salem Library**

Steve had never been so eager to leave a house and get to the nearest hotel. The Alamain mansion was far creepier than any other home that he, Amy, and Matt had ever investigated. After a restless night of trying to sleep at the hotel and feeling as though the ghost of Lucinda may have followed him, Steve awakened Halloween morning and had a quick breakfast in the hotel lobby. After some sugared donuts and strong black coffee, he was ready to pay a visit to the Salem Library. It was time to gather all the knowledge he could on the death of Lucinda Alamain and any other information which may be important to the case.

At the library, Steve poured over history books of Salem and it's past occupants. Some of the pages were overly crisp and stained a faded yellow. Since the Alamains had been a prominent family in Salem, it wasn't difficult to find the history he needed on the mansion and the people who had made their home within it's walls.

He scoured over the books and articles, taking notes and absorbing pertinent information. He found the article which described the strange disappearance and death of Lucinda Alamain, Vivian's younger sister. The article read:

 _A grand party was held at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Alamain. All in attendance had come to celebrate the 10th birthday of the Almain's youngest daughter, Miss Lucinda. Just outside the home, a small carnival and petting zoo had been set up. At 2 pm in the afternoon, Miss Lucinda opened her gifts. Not long after, little Miss Lucinda, also known as Lucy, suddenly disappeared. The last place the child was seen was in the parlor while in the presence of her twelve year old sister, Miss Vivian. After that, the nanny lost track of both of the girls. Around 3 pm, it was discovered that Miss Lucinda was nowhere to be found. All the other children had been accounted for, including Mr. and Mrs. Alamain's older two children, Leopold and Vivian. The child Lucinda seemed to have disappeared without a trace. The Alamain's hired a private investigator. They expected to receive a ransom note, but the child wasn't found and a ransom note did not arrive. They grieved for the loss of their daughter, but never gave up hope that they would find her._

 _A month passed and then a strange occurrence happened within the Alamain mansion. Miss Vivian Alamain entered the parlor to find that the child, young Lucinda Alamain lay upon a settee in the center of the room. The child did not have a pulse and there were red marks around her neck. The coroner concluded that Lucinda had been strangled. The mystery of her death and her prior disappearance has yet to be solved._

 _A funeral was held two days later, and Lucinda was buried in the family cemetery. The family mourns deeply for their youngest child..._

Steve jotted down a few notes as he read the article, taking into consideration that Vivian was the last person to be seen with Lucinda before her disappearance. Vivian Alamain knew something! She had also been the one to find the body! Steve went on to look for other articles pertaining to the Alamain family.

He soon found another startling article dated several years later. It read:

 _Another child has tragically died at the famed Alamain mansion where a young girl disappeared years before. Lucinda Alamain was later found strangled. Forrest Alamain, the youngest child of Leopold and Philomena Alamain was discovered in the family pool. Having been left alone with his older brother Lawrence by the family nanny, Forrest had unfortunately drowned. It was Vivian Alamain who retrieved the child's body from the pool. The Alamain family has been devastated by the loss of their son. Forrest was only four years old at the time of his death._

 _The body of Forrest has been laid to rest in the family cemetery near the grave of Lucinda Alamain._

Steve then came upon an article from the Salem Spectator dated from the early 90's. It read:

 _Vivian Alamain has been taken to an insane asylum after a complete and total mental breakdown. She kidnapped her nephew Lawrence's newborn child, telling the boy's mother that her baby had died. She told Lawrence later that she adopted the child and was raising him as her own. When the child's mother, Dr. Carly Manning became suspicious, Vivian injected several of Carly's patients with poison, causing their deaths. Carly was nearly framed by Vivian, but as a last resort to keep Carly from discovering the truth of Nicholas Alamain's true parentage, Vivian had Carly buried alive in the Salem cemetery. Lawrence became aware of what his aunt had done. He forced a confession from his aunt and he saved Carly from her underground casket. Carly, Lawrence and their son were reunited. It was decided that Vivian Alamain was far too mentally incompetent to stand trial. She will remain at the insane asylum indefinitely, attended by her loyal servant Ivan Marais._

A few years later, another article had been posted in The Salem Spectator. It read:

 _Residents of Salem are in a deep state of sorrow with the news that has come in from Paris. Dr. Carly Alamain and her husband Lawrence are mourning the sudden loss of their second child who had been born three weeks early. The child only lived a mere two hours. The little girl had been given the name Lucy, in honor of Lawrence's aunt, the famed Lucinda Alamain. Baby Lucy will be buried in Paris, France. Lawrence, Carly, and their son Nicholas have decided to return to the states as soon as it can be arranged._

"Hmmmm..." Steve spoke as he gathered all the information from the articles. All of it would be crucial to Amy when they got together to discuss the case after she finished her paranormal investigation. He hoped that Amy and Matt would survive their upcoming tour of the house. If he saw a ghost, he couldn't imagine what horrors Amy might discover within the walls of the Alamain home. Something definitely wasn't right! Evil lurked and Steve was sure he knew _where_ it had originated.

He couldn't get her face out of his mind. It wasn't the face of the ghost that haunted him. It was the dreaded countenance of Vivian Alamain, Lawrence's deranged aunt. No doubt she had committed horrendous crimes... but had she killed her own younger sister ... and did she have a hand in the death of her own little nephew?

Steve didn't have all the answers but he knew Amy would. She and Matt would be arriving at the mansion in just a few hours as soon as the sun had set in the horizon.

The moment of truth would soon follow. Amy would be able to communicate with the spirit or spirits lurking within the Alamain house. Soon it would all come to light.


	6. Chapter 6

_Matt: Before Amy arrives, I have to clear the area of anything that could influence her findings. Personal items, photographs, or religious texts have to be covered or removed. When I am finished, tonight's walk can begin..._

 **Amy and Matt arrive at the Alamain Mansion:**

It was Halloween night when Amy and Matt reached Salem. Amy stayed at the Salem Inn while Matt drove over to the mansion to cover and conceal anything that could influence Amy's findings. After he had taken care of all the personal effects of the mansion, including the giant portrait of Lucinda above the fireplace mantle, Matt returned to the hotel to pick up Amy.

As she entered the car and looked at Matt, a chill went down her spine. "You saw something in that house," she said knowingly.

"I saw nothing," he said with a sigh. "You know I am not a psychic medium. Spirits don't communicate with me."

"I know you well enough to tell that you aren't being honest with me. You SAW something in that house, didn't you? I can _see_ it in your face."

Matt shuddered slightly. A strange expression had settled on his face. "Let's just say you're right about this case, Amy. There **is** something there. Something that made my skin crawl..."

"And what did you see?"

"I didn't see anything... but I heard- I heard... a voice."

"If _you_ are hearing the voices, imagine what I will hear," Amy said softly.

"Hang on; I think it's gonna be a wild night," said Matt. He then started the vehicle and they headed over to the Alamain Estate. The Alamain family had been asked to leave the premises so that Amy and Matt could have total privacy in order to conduct their paranormal investigation.

When they pulled into the circular driveway, Amy felt a sharp pain in the center of her skull. "DEATH," she said. "So much death and heartache. A woman is weeping. Her child has died."

"Let me grab the camera," Matt said. They left the car as Matt was retrieving his technical equipment from the backseat. "We're rolling," he stated.

Amy repeated her earlier statement as she mentioned death and a woman weeping for her deceased child. "There is so much pain here. _Agony_. Someone has caused a great deal of heartache and destruction," Amy said as they neared the front porch.

As they stood upon the porch of the decades old structure, Amy had a vision of an earlier time. "It's somebody's birthday," she said. "She's ten years old... and her name is Lou... Lucy. She's a very pretty little girl. She's the apple of her parents' eye."

"But in the distance, there is another girl. This one is a little older... and she's jealous of her sister. She wants all the presents. She feels that Lucy is getting all of her parents' attention."

Amy opened the front door as she and Matt entered the house. As they stood in the foyer, only a faint light from a lamp lit up the staircase and a long narrow hallway. "The other girl- she's angry. She's seething. She wants her sister GONE," Amy stated. "She knows exactly what she has to do..."

They made their way down the hallway and entered the spacious parlor. Amy started to get chills, despite the fire burning brightly in the fireplace. She shivered as she heard a little voice calling out to her. "There's a spirit here... a beautiful little girl. It's Lucy," she said. "And she's weeping..."

"What is she saying?" Matt asked as he continued to film the investigation.

"She says that her sister locked her up. It was cold... so cold. She's freezing." Amy continued to shiver as she wrapped her arms around herself. "She says that her sister kept her in a locked room for days... with little food or water..."

Amy spun around the room, taking in all the sights and sounds from the great beyond. "Something is happening. Something bad. Lucy can't breathe..."

"Ohhh God," Amy gasped as she clutched at her neck. "It was the older sister. She strangled Lucy with a wire coat hanger. Lucy's gone now... and her mother is weeping... Everyone's crying."

Matt got an expression of horror upon his face as Amy described the murder. "She's here now. She needs to talk to me. She says... 'Help me!'" Amy said.

"What does she need you to help her with?" Matt questioned.

"She's leading me away... She wants us to go outside."

"Alright," Matt replied as he followed Amy. The spirit of Lucy was directing them out the backdoor of the mansion. There in the back of the building was a huge oval-shaped swimming pool.

"What happened here?" Matt asked, seeing Amy looking out at the water of the pool with increasing trepidation.

"A little boy is floating in the water," Amy said. "His nanny left for just a second. She was called inside by the lady of the house... and then, as soon as the two children were alone in the pool, SHE arrived."

"Who? Lucy?"

Amy shook her head. "No, the one who _murdered_ Lucy, her very own sister."

"What's happening now?" Matt asked as Amy was absorbing all the sights and sounds of an earlier time.

"She got into the pool and she pushed the little boy under. He tried to struggle, but he was so small. She held him beneath the surface until he stopped struggling. Sadly, the little boy died." Amy choked on a sob.

"She has no remorse. She's blaming the child's death on his eight year old brother," Amy added.

Matt felt sickened as he heard Amy's account of what had happened in the pool. Undoubtedly, the one who had committed the horrific crimes was deranged. "She didn't like the little boy. I can see him now, standing by the edge of the pool. He says his auntie was mean to him," Amy said.

"The little boy is being comforted in the arms of the other murdered child ~ Lucy. They say they aren't alone here. There is one more," Amy continued.

"What do you mean... there is one more?" Matt asked, the hair standing up on the back of his neck as he looked at Amy's face. She had **that** expression; that incredible grimace she got when she was about to reveal something momentous.

"They are asking us to return to the parlor. They say there is an incredible secret..."

Matt grudgingly followed Amy back inside the Alamain mansion where the spirits were leading. They stood in the parlor, the room where little Lucy was found dead. Amy looked around, listening as the spirits were speaking to her in urgent voices.

"What's going on here?" Matt dared to ask.

"They say there's a hidden room..." Amy explained. "They want us to open the secret door."

Matt almost dropped his camera. They'd been on a lot of cases, but nothing like **this** had ever happened before. "They say... _she_ 's in there..." stated Amy.

"Who? Who's in there?" Matt questioned.

Amy walked closer to the fireplace, rubbing her hand along the bottom edge of the mantel. As her fingers touched upon a small, obscure button, there was a frightful scraping sound. It was as if the door of a mausoleum was slowly opening.

Matt could feel his heart pounding violently in his chest. The spirits had been correct. There WAS a hidden room ... and they were looking upon the contents of it now!

"Ohhh my God!" Amy exclaimed in a little gasp.

Matt too stared in disbelief. Amy had been right. This was the mother of all cases! This was the one that would forever stand out in front of all the others.

"Matt, am I seeing what I think I am seeing?" Amy said in state of shock.

"Yes. We've solved the mystery," Matt replied. "Now the spirits can be at peace."

The little voices of the child spirits were singing loudly with great joy. Amy smiled as she felt the peace that had settled within the walls of the mansion. "They can go on now..." Amy said to Matt.

"You can go. Matt and I will take care of everything," she said to the spirit of Lucy and the little boy.

The two children held hands before Amy's eyes. Then they disappeared so suddenly; finally at peace.


	7. Chapter 7

_"Now that Amy and I have completed our investigations, we are ready to reveal our findings to each other and to our clients for the first time." Steve DiSchiavi, the Dead Files_

 **The Reveal**

A table had been set up within the Alamain parlor. Steve DiSchiavi, Amy Allan, and Lawrence and Carly Alamain were seated around the table, waiting for the reveal. Steve spoke up. "Amy, I'd like you to meet Dr. Carly Alamain and her husband Lawrence Alamain. They are the parents of a son, Nicholas. They have been living here for about one year, although this mansion has been in Alamain family for several decades. In fact, Lawrence lived in this house as a child. This is a photo of Lawrence and Carly with their son."

Steve passed Amy a family photo of The Alamains with their adorable son Nicky. "Basically since they moved here after living in Paris for a while, their lives have been turned upside down," Steve stated. "Their son is sad and scared. He's been hanging out in the family cemetery, hearing voices, and seeing apparitions When they were in Paris, they had a happy life together. They had a great marriage. What has been happening in the mansion has been a huge strain on the family, because Lawrence doesn't believe in the paranormal, yet his wife and son have been hearing and seeing strange things. And to tell you the truth, something happened to me when I first got here to interview the family. I saw something on the porch. It frightened me so much, I wanted to leave... but I stayed, because I wanted to help this family. I wanted to solve the mystery, so I began collecting evidence."

As he was speaking, Amy got a great look of pain upon her face as though she might burst into tears at any second. "They want to know what's here... so they can kick it the hell out... and start living again. They'd like to get back to their normal, happy lives," Steve continued.

Then Steve turned to Lawrence and Carly and said, "Now that Amy knows a little bit about what's going on, I am gonna ask her to tell us about her walk."

Now it was Amy's turn. "As soon as I approached the mansion, I got a feeling of great pain in the middle of my skull. It was agonizing. A woman was weeping; she was devastated, because her child had just died. When I came in, I entered this room and I saw the image of child... a little ghost girl. She said her name was Lucy," Amy stated as the Alamain's looked at her with wide eyes.

"Little Lucy asked me to help her. I was lead outside by the spirit to the family's swimming pool..." Amy went on.

Suddenly Lawrence gasped, a look of horror upon his face. Carly took his hand, trying to comfort him. "It was YOU in the pool with the little boy," Amy said as she placed her gaze upon Lawrence. "You were only eight years old. Sadly, you were blamed for your younger brother's death. You need to know - you did _nothing_ wrong. It wasn't you that harmed your little brother. You are not to blame. There is someone else... a woman who lives now in your house. She is responsible for the deaths of both children, Lucy and Forrest, and SHE is the one to blame for all of the heartache."

"Vivian?" Carly cried out. She had always known that Vivian had a screw loose. After all, she had taken her child, declared him dead, and raised him as her own, keeping him from his parents. Vivian had also injected Carly's patients with cleaning fluid and later she had buried Carly alive! The woman was demented and belonged back in the mental hospital!

"She's a red-haired woman..." Amy explained. "I saw her as a child, strangling her little sister with coat hanger. I also saw her as a young woman, holding the little boy under the water and drowning him in the pool. She's mentally ill. She needs to be locked up ... FOREVER."

"My aunt left the mental hospital a little over a year ago. They said she had recovered," Lawrence spoke up.

"She's definitely not recovered... and we have proof," said Amy.

Carly and Lawrence looked at each other in surprise as Amy and Steve stood up from the table. "Are you aware that there is a hidden room within this house?" Amy questioned.

Both Carly and Lawrence shook their heads. "No, not at all," said Lawrence. "Will you show us the room?"

Amy walked over to the fireplace, triggering the hidden knob that opened the door leading to the secret room. When the door slid open with a loud scraping noise, Lawrence and Carly looked on in awe. "My **God**!" Lawrence exclaimed.

"What is this?" Carly asked, shaking visibly as she walked into the little room, seeing a nursery set up with a crib as well as other baby equipment.

She stood over the crib as she saw a little pink bear setting upon a delicate pink coverlet. Thinking of the daughter she had lost, Carly began to cry. She looked at Lawrence with tear-filled eyes.

"What has Vivian done?!" she cried out to her husband.

Just then, Matt entered the parlor, carrying a tiny little girl in his arms. She looked to be near one year of age. She had silky dark hair and gorgeous blue eyes, the same eyes as Nicholas, Lawrence and Carly's son.

"Who is this child?" Lawrence questioned.

"Late last night, your aunt and her loyal servant Ivan were arrested. She admitted that she snuck into the hospital in Paris, France after your daughter's birth. She switched your daughter with the corpse of an infant she had taken from the morgue. She staged your daughter's death, then she brought the baby back here to the states. With the help of her servant, she's been keeping the child in this hidden room, right under your noses," Steve explained.

"WHAT?!" Lawrence gasped as he looked at the baby girl with longing. Could this REALLY be he and Carly's child, the one they had been mourning? Was his aunt actually **that** insane that she had staged their little girl's death? Had Vivian kept their daughter in a sound-proof, hidden room for a little over one year?!

"My baby... my baby!" Carly sobbed as she reached out for the tiny girl. She took the little one in her arms, hugging her as she cried. "My sweet little Lucy."

Lawrence was still trying to take everything in as he watched his wife hold the child as she was weeping. For months, they had mourned their baby daughter. How could Vivian have been so cruel to have taken Lucy from them, replacing their child with the body of a dead infant? How could she have done so many deplorable acts?!

"The spirit of Lucinda and Forrest Alamain were trying to get your attention. They wanted you to find this little girl," said Amy. "They wanted to protect her from any harm. But I want you to know, now that this little girl is safe and all the mysteries have been solved, the spirits are at peace and they have left this mansion. They've went into the light."

"What we've discovered that is even more creepy is that we think this same hidden room was used by Vivian all those years ago when she entrapped her sister Lucinda for over a month before she strangled her," Steve added.

"I hate her even more now," Carly said with gritted teeth as she and Lawrence cuddled their sweet little daughter.

"Thank God we got our precious little girl back. Wait until Nicky meets her," Lawrence said to Carly.

At the conclusion of the reveal, Carly and Lawrence thanked, Amy, Steve and Matt for all they had done. "We don't know what we can do to repay you..." said Lawrence. "How does 1 million dollars sound?"

Amy shook her head. "I'm just glad that Vivian was caught, your daughter is safe, and that the spirits of Lucinda and Forrest can finally be at rest. You don't have to worry about thanking me. That is truly thanks enough."

The Dead Files team said goodbye to Lawrence and Carly. After they had left, Lawrence and Carly marveled over their beloved daughter, Lucy. "She's incredible," Lawrence said. "She looks just like you, Katerina."

"We made two beautiful kids," she said as she reached up to give him a kiss.

"Would you like to return to Paris... or maybe even Italy? This mansion creeps me out... after all the awful things Vivian has done here."

"I was hoping you would say that," said Carly. "We'll reunite with Nicky, pack up a few things, and then we'll board your private jet."

"I can't wait," he said as he tugged her close to kiss her deeply. The baby reached out, touching his cheek. Lawrence's heart melted.

His daughter was ALIVE. He couldn't be more happy. And finally, after so many years of torture and anguish, he had finally gotten rid of his psychotic aunt.

Meanwhile, Matt, Amy and Steve were saying their goodbyes as they got into their separate cars. "Another successful investigation," Matt said as he drove away from the mansion.

"We make quite a team together," Amy said as she smiled at him.

"That we do," he agreed. "Hey, I was thinking, what happened back there was draining on all of us... would you like to take a a little vacation?"

"Where would we go?"

"Somewhere romantic... how about the beach?"

"You and me?"

"Of course," said Matt. "If we took Steve with us, it would be awfully crowded in our bed."

"Matt!" Amy gasped.

"Amy, I want to try again. You and me. I never got over you. Why do you think I tag along with you on all these creepy cases?"

"Because I am rich in character and I have great boobs?" she said teasingly.

Matt laughed. "Well, that helps... but I am doing it because I am madly in love with you. I follow you because I can't bear to be without you."

"Why did we ever divorce?" Amy asked with a hint of sadness.

"For the life of me, I really don't know- but I do know that it was a mistake. Amy, tell me, do you still love me? Is there a second chance for us?"

Amy thought for a second. She was so deep in thought that she had that grimace on her face again. Soon it faded into a gorgeous smile. "Matt, I haven't dated a single guy since we split up. There's no one like you..."

"I want to pull over so I can kiss you," he said breathlessly.

"Just drive us to the Salem Inn... We can kiss and fondle there," Amy stated.

"And then we'll go on that vacation?"

"Of course, I want to see you in some skimpy swimming trunks."

"And I want to see you in a barely-there bikini."

"Drive faster, Matt!" Amy suddenly exclaimed.

Matt put the pedal to the metal as he hurried toward their hotel. His heart was beating so fast within his chest. With each pulsating beat, it was calling out, **AMY**!

 **THE END**

 _Author's Note: I hope you like the ending. My kids kept interrupting and I got incredibly frustrated. It seems to be lacking something, but I am not sure what. Are you surprised by how the fic turned out? I would love to hear your thoughts._


End file.
